


Lovers and Other Strangers

by Mina Lightstar (ukefied)



Category: Ima Soko ni Iru Boku | Now and Then Here and There
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 16:25:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1611665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukefied/pseuds/Mina%20Lightstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conflict in Hellywood creates a greater rift between two childhood companions. Off the battlefield, the power is shifted. Things are not always what they seem -- and they sometimes change for the worst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lovers and Other Strangers

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written/posted many, many years ago.

Nabuca couldn't sleep. He hated not being able to sleep. As a soldier, he had learned that rest was a very important factor for survival. On the battlefield, one had to be quick, sharp, and always alert. An exhausted body meant sluggish movements, and slothful movements could mean death.

After a day filled with drills, training, commanding, and keeping his troops in line, Nabuca should have been worn out. He *was* tired, and so there shouldn't have been anything stopping him from drifting into a deep sleep until the following morning. But there was.

/Shu./

The new recruit, the fiery young man, the valiant warrior who fought his battles with a staff rather than a blade or gun... Shu was an odd one. A fraction of his incongruity was due to his otherworldly origins. Nabuca knew that. But there was something else about the boy that unsettled him, and the rest of his troupe. Because of Shu's unpredictable actions, Nabuca trusted only his and Boo's eyes on the outlander. Shu still had to learn the rules and regulations of Hellywood, and better for him to be reprimanded by Nabuca than for him to meet his end at the hand of another soldier.

Nabuca shifted on his hard bed, as quietly as he could manage so he wouldn't wake any of the others. In addition to causing trouble in his party, Shu had unknowingly widened the rift between Nabuca and Tabool. Tabool was gradually becoming a very different person, and he had wasted no time in voicing his displeasure. Tabool had mocked Nabuca because he owed his life to the outlander, and the jibes, coupled with Nabuca's protective actions toward Shu, had divided them somewhat. Nabuca couldn't say he liked it. Aside from Boo, who was more of a protege, Nabuca's only other friend was Tabool.

Or at least, Tabool had *been* his friend. Lately, he wasn't sure where they stood with one another outside of battle. In public, they were commander and soldier. In private...he didn't know, anymore. The loss of their home, their friends, and their old lives had changed them. The war had changed them, their profession had changed them... But where Nabuca chose to cling to the belief that they would be released one day, Tabool was steadily abandoning that hope and accepting what he thought to be reality.

Nabuca turned his head to stare out his window. The moon was glowing high in the sky, obscured by clouds, its bluish light bathing Nabuca in a soft glow. He stared at it for a while, hoping that the light would compel him to go to sleep.

For a while, he thought it was working. Looking at the lustrous shape hidden behind the clouds brought a few moments of peace to his mind. His thoughts were still jumbled with bits of Tabool, Shu, Hellywood, and even Hamdo himself, but fatigue was winning over. His eyes began to slide shut, and he welcomed the oblivion that was about to take him.

A mattress creaked, startling Nabuca out of his sleepy haze. His eyes snapped wide open again, and he was just as awake as he'd been moments ago. At first, he thought that the noise had been nothing but the result of one of his soldiers twisting about in their sleep. But then the bed creaked again - not with dream-induced movements this time, but with the actions of a fully alert individual.

For some reason, Nabuca was quicker to deem the movement an act of foul play than of more probable reasons. One of his men just needed to relieve himself, most likely. Nothing more. But he didn't think that was the case.

He took a chance and turned his head on the pillow, trying to get a look at the person who was about to prowl through Hellywood during the night. He blinked when he saw who it was. The moonlight illuminated only Nabuca's form, leaving the soldiers near the back of the barracks to be seen as little more than silhouettes. But because Nabuca knew where each soldier slept, and because he was familiar with the shape of the body and the way the soldier moved, he knew right away who had roused in the middle of the night.

/Tabool./

It was as though Nabuca's private musings had stirred the other young man awake. When Tabool paused on his way to the door, Nabuca quickly turned his head back to the window, feigning sleep. Tabool had perhaps felt Nabuca's eyes on him, and until Nabuca knew what the blond was up to, he didn't want the other boy to see that he was still awake.

Tabool didn't move for a few moments. The silence in the barracks was suddenly very apparent. Nabuca waited as patiently as he could manage, and at last, Tabool's quiet footsteps were heard again. The door to his troupe's room opened with only a slight squeak, and closed with an equally quiet thud.

Nabuca sat up as soon as his companion left the room. He tried to convince himself that he would have taken action regardless of who had woken up and left after lights-out. But deep down, he knew that he was more apt to give chase to this particular soldier. /He'd better not be up to anything foolish./

Clad only in a black tank top and baggy white pants, Nabuca slid out of his bed and followed Tabool out of their bedchamber. He gave his men one last look, particularly Shu, before shutting the door as gently as he could.

He turned his head in time to see Tabool go around a corner. Nabuca followed, his bare feet making him all-but float over the cold, hard floors of Hellywood. The corridors were dark and empty; only a minimum number of guards were on duty at this hour, and so the halls were silent.

His chase consisted of his catching a short glimpse of Tabool before the other boy would round another corner. But after the first few turns, Nabuca was able to guess where he was headed. /The balcony./

Not just any balcony. There were countless of them within Hellywood, looking out over the desert that surrounded the fortress. The balcony that Tabool was proceeding to was one in particular.

True to Nabuca's suspicions, Tabool did just that, turning around another predictable corner and slipping out of a familiar door. Nabuca followed, stopping at the closed door. He waited, unsure if he should let Tabool be or simply go outside right away without giving the other boy any time to be alone with his thoughts.

Curiosity got the better of him. Nabuca reached for the doorknob and, without hesitation, turned the handle to let himself out.   
  
  


***

 

The nights in the deserts surrounding Hellywood were cold. It was a sharp contrast to the intense, blistering heat that covered the area during the daylight hours. Nabuca found himself longing for his sand-colored Hellywood uniform. It was warm and a little uncomfortable during the day, but now he wouldn't have minded having the fabric covering his skin. A breeze blew just as he shut the door, ruffling his short black hair and chilling his bare shoulders.

"I thought you'd be late."

Nabuca started, recognizing the voice as Tabool's. /Well, who else would it be?/ He turned around, folding his arms to help huddle some warmth into his body. It wasn't *extremely* cold; he didn't *need* a jacket or anything of the sort. But it was still chilly.

Tabool was sitting in the corner of the balcony to the right of the door. He was seated with his knees huddled up against his chest, settled against the corner where the railing met the metal wall of Hamdo's fortress.

Nabuca studied him for a few moments. Tabool was clothed in a fashion similar to Nabuca's. The blond boy wore a short-sleeved, white shirt with dark pants. Nabuca couldn't tell what color they were in the darkness, but he figured they were either brown or black. Tabool didn't look surprised to see him. In fact, the blond even looked rather bored, expectant.

Finally, he decided to comment on his companion's statement. "Late?" At first, the remark didn't ring a bell.

"It's after midnight," Tabool pointed out, "and you were still in bed when I left the room."

/Oh.../ Of course. "I wasn't sure if there would be another time," he confessed, trying not to sound hurt by the prospect. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he *would* be hurt if Tabool had made such a decision. He and Tabool were...it was an odd relationship. Odd and complicated.

Tabool stretched his legs out and shrugged. "It's not like we've had time for this." He made a face. "With the search for Lala-Ru and her pendant, and that troublesome new soldier of yours."

_"Yours"_. Nabuca didn't miss how Tabool set himself apart from Nabuca's squadron even while being a piece of it. The blond still followed orders, if begrudgingly, but always made it clear that he didn't consider himself part of Nabuca's team. "Ah," he acknowledged, his tone flat and observant.

"How are his injuries faring?" Tabool asked. By his tone, it was obvious that Tabool was curious, and by no means actually concerned with Shu's well-being.

"He's as good as new," Nabuca replied anyway. He wasn't sure why Tabool was asking; the other boy had been with Shu and the rest of Nabuca's squad during training that day. Maybe Tabool was making it a point to demonstrate that Shu was an outsider, and thus not worth paying attention to. It was the kind of thing Tabool would do.

"His mouth could use some working on, though."

Tabool's words were condescending, and Nabuca couldn't say he blamed the blond for saying them. Shu...he would cause problems for them all, perhaps - unless Nabuca was able to subdue his fiery spirit. /Or if not subdue it...at least convince him to stop fighting a losing battle. I won't let him jeopardize my team./

"I won't let him stop us from going home," he said aloud, and immediately regretted doing so. Remarks like that fueled Tabool's fire. Talk about home - reminiscing about the old days, speaking of lost mothers and fathers, suggesting that they would see that home again one day - was forbidden around Tabool. Well...not forbidden, but any sliver of mention of home that came about was met with--

"I wish you'd stop going on about that." Tabool made a face. "It's obvious that we aren't going home again. Stop laying your last hopes all at Hamdo's feet."

Nabuca fell into his own rebuttal without thinking. "We can't give up just yet. Hamdo promised that we would be allowed to return to our villages. We can't..." He broke off once he caught himself reciting the same excuse he always did. Sometimes, he didn't know why he bothered trying to convince Tabool otherwise. The blond's mind had been made up.

Typically, Tabool continued on with his reasoning. "I can't believe you still hang on to that dream. Even after all this time..." He shrugged and gestured to the place at his side, glancing up questioningly at Nabuca. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

Nabuca didn't wait for a more irritated invitation. Their night had started on an uncomfortable foot already. He took the seat next to his childhood companion and leaned his back against the wall. "The stars are beautiful," he said in an attempt to change the subject completely.

Tabool snorted. "If anything, Hamdo should have us hunting high and low for Lala-Ru's pendant *now*. It's colder and easier to work in the night. In the daytime it's much too hot for such a thorough search."

Nabuca had to admit that the hunt would have been much easier during the night hours. They *had* searched all through the night as well, but most of their efforts had been exercised during the day. "And after all that effort, we still didn't find it." He loathed to bring the conversation back to Lala- Ru, Shu, and the pendant, but it seemed like those things were on Tabool's mind. "Hamdo is insane," he said, a tad more quietly.

"Insane?" Tabool echoed, sounding contemplative. "Yes, I'd say you're right in that, Nabuca. There's no doubt about Hamdo's sanity - or lack thereof."

"Let's talk about something else." It was half a suggestion, half a plea.

"I'd think you'd like to talk about work," Tabool said with a sneer. "You always seem so bent on doing a good job."

"So do you," Nabuca shot back, a little more forcefully than he'd intended.

Tabool said nothing for a moment, looking mildly taken aback at the words. "What's this? Praise?"

"Hardly." Nabuca sighed quietly, tilting his head back against the wall of Hellywood and closing his eyes. "You're changing, Tabool."

"For better or for worse?" His companion didn't even sound as though he was concerned - or surprised - about the declaration.

Nabuca thought about it, comparing the Tabool he'd once known to the soldier he fought with now. "I'm...not sure. It's just a change. You'll be different, I think, and I'm not certain if it will be a good kind of different."

"If it's any consolation, you haven't changed at all."

"Haven't I?" He'd become more ruthless, certainly. He knew that. Before coming to Hellywood, he would never have imagined taking another human being's life. Now...now that was his purpose, more or less. He was a soldier - no, more than that. He was commander of a children's division of Hellywood's army.

"You've always been a leader," Tabool said. "Even long before we were taken here."

Nabuca absorbed those words. Warm compliments from Tabool were few and far between. "Would you believe," he uttered, "that when I was first brought here...I wanted to be back in my mother's arms?"

Tabool snorted softly. "I'm sure that many others felt the same way."

"Did you?" Nabuca couldn't help but ask.

Tabool looked at him for a moment. His eyes betrayed nothing. "I don't remember."

Nabuca decided not to pry. "We're the only two left, Tabool. From our village, I mean. The only two."

"And to think," Tabool added, "you and I weren't even friends before coming here. It's funny how things work out."

No, they hadn't been friends before their village had been raided. They had known each other, but had not associated much. When they were taken from home by the Hellywood army, however, children from the same areas had stuck close together for a sense of security. Nabuca and Tabool, two of the eldest of their village, had formed their allegiance. Or at least, it had started out as an allegiance. Nabuca would have been lying if he said he'd been expecting what had come *of* that allegiance.

"I wonder if the others believed they would get to go home eventually," Nabuca whispered, mostly to himself. He would never know; of all the children that had come from his village, only he and Tabool were still alive.

"If they were as naive as you, then yes, they probably did." Then Tabool was whispering in his ear, his breath so warm against the cold of the night, "Let's stop talking about this."

"Then what would you like to talk about?" Nabuca asked, knowing where Tabool was headed.

"Nothing," the blond husked. "Nothing at all." This sentence was punctuated with a tongue, wet with saliva, dipping into his ear.

How he and Tabool had begun these midnight practices, Nabuca didn't know. Before Tabool had lost his belief that they would be returning home, Nabuca would often sit with the other boy late after lights-out - conditions permitting - and talk about their village. They shared happy memories, recalled times they had crossed paths in the past, and wondered what had become of everyone else.

Sometimes, after their first few battles, they clung to each other during those visits. There were no tears shed, no fears confessed; just one acting as a pillar for the other, should he need it. Eventually, as their fellow villagers began to pass away and battles became more frequent, they had turned to a more base form of comfort and stress relief. Tabool liked their trysts because they helped give him an outlet for all the aggression and restlessness he had. And Nabuca...well...he didn't know. It was a lot of things.

Tabool had once told him that during sex, he looked so eager to be dominated. If he played submissive, he didn't have to do a great deal of work; Tabool preferred being dominant. In that light, they suited one another. Also, Tabool had confessed to loving the idea of possessing a superior officer. When in uniform, Nabuca and Tabool were commander and subordinate. Off the battlefield, the power was shifted. After dark, when everyone else was in bed, it was not unusual for Tabool to have Nabuca writhing beneath him.

Nabuca tilted his head sideways, letting Tabool nose the skin behind his ear. "You're warm," he murmured.

"You're cold," Tabool replied, kissing Nabuca's bare shoulder.

"Hm." He shivered, illustrating that he *was* cold, and replied, "It's too bad we can't go inside."

"You won't be cold for long," Tabool promised, moving one hand right to grip Nabuca's groin, clearly announcing just what his intentions were. Without even waiting for an invitation, Tabool moved over and straddled Nabuca's thighs.

Nabuca didn't want to bring up the subject again, but he couldn't help what he felt. Lately, he always felt a little cold around Tabool. "You neither, I'd gather."

Tabool muttered something that could have been an agreement, moving the strap of Nabuca's black tank aside and giving the shoulder under it a nibble. When the blond's cold fingers slipped up the shirt, Nabuca winced and opened his eyes.

"Don't take anything off," he admonished. "It's too cold for that."

Tabool made a face, but didn't try to remove the shirt. He did push it up, holding it high with his thumbs, fingers resting against Nabuca's back. When Nabuca looked down, he could see his own pink nipples, so erect from the cold that it looked painful even though that wasn't the case. When the cool night air hit them, he shivered again.

Tabool studied them for a few seconds, before touching one of them with just the tip of his tongue. Nabuca hissed quietly, head rolling just a little against the wall it was resting on. His mouth fell open when Tabool covered that nipple with his lips. The blond's breath was so hot, so good, so... Nabuca arched his torso outward, pushing against Tabool's mouth. He could feel his breathing become heavier as his lover starting pushing his tongue against the nipple in his mouth. When he swirled his tongue around it and sucked, Nabuca released some sort of mewling sound. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he would regret Tabool's ministrations later; once that mouth moved on, his wet, sensitive nipples would protest the cold air.

Tabool's hand covered the other nipple, rubbing it with his palm. His hand was rough from both battle and training, and it caused a maddening, not- quite tickling sensation. Nabuca twitched under the mouth and hand, and when Tabool's other hand abandoned the hem of his shirt to seek refuge between his thighs, he swallowed. The pants were loose, so his erection was not very evident...but the pants were also white. Nabuca winced as Tabool gave his girth a quick squeeze. He didn't want to have to explain how he had stained his pants.

"My pants," he got out around a moan. Tabool had chosen that precise moment to pinch a nipple oh-so lightly with his teeth.

Tabool took his mouth away, baring the moist little point to the cold. "I thought you didn't want me to take anything off." He removed his hand from Nabuca's chest, and the black tank top fell back down.

"Not all the way off," Nabuca tried to explain. For all his talk of not wanting to stain his pants, he was having a hard time refraining from rocking his hips back and forth. In fact, he was just barely keeping his legs the way they were; both limbs were struggling to spread themselves wider.

"No more foreplay?" Tabool almost managed to sound disappointed.

"Too cold for foreplay," Nabuca responded.

"Okay, then."

Tabool and Nabuca worked together, quickly rearranging their bodies for the next activity. When Tabool removed himself from Nabuca's legs, Nabuca spread them wider so the blond could make himself comfortable between them. Or at least, as comfortable as lying on a solid, metal floor could be. Nabuca helped Tabool pull down his pants, hissing in displeasure as his bare bottom touched the cold, cold floor. Tabool's hands were there in an instant, slipping under his buttocks to help cushion them. He still felt the cold, but it wasn't as bad.

"We've got to start finding warmer places to do this," Tabool murmured just before going down on him.

Any reply Nabuca would have made was lost once Tabool's mouth started moving over his sex. Since he knew it would turn his lover on, Nabuca tangled both hands into Tabool's thick hair. He didn't try to direct the blond in any way - Tabool didn't like that - but made his enjoyment known.

Nabuca didn't have anyone to make a comparison with, but he thought Tabool gave good head. He wondered if it was just natural skill or if Tabool had had to learn it from someone else.

He watched Tabool's head bob up and down through slitted eyes, feeling the impending release coming. Sometimes he wished they had all the time in the world to take care of each other this way.

When he came, his reaction was more physical than vocal. His voice allowed only the tiniest wail to escape - and at a low volume, at that.

Tabool drank him down - something Nabuca commended him for. The taste was something he had still not grown accustomed to. When possible, he spat Tabool's release over the railing. Tabool even licked him clean, tonguing his spent cock with such skill that Nabuca almost wished he would keep up the teasing until he was ready to be hard again. The cleaning was over all too soon.

"What are you thinking about?" Tabool asked huskily, pulling Nabuca to his knees.

"Everything and nothing," he replied, settling down on all fours. "What are you thinking of?"

"The same." Tabool crawled around to his backside and started massaging the cheeks of his bottom. "That damn pendant is probably right under our noses, you know."

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it," Nabuca said, letting his head hang. He opened his mouth in a faint, sighed "Ahhhn" when Tabool's tongue rimmed him. He didn't have to look to know that Tabool was lubricating his own erection even as the blond showered attention on Nabuca's bottom. He wasn't sure where his lover got the lube, but if he had to guess, he would say one of the older soldier's rooms - and probably without asking. Whatever the case, Tabool *always* had lube.

Nabuca pushed his bottom back, reveling in the feeling. The tongue was fucking him for now, but soon something much better would be taking over. Mind, the tongue was pretty damn good, and he was disappointed when it withdrew, dragging along the cleft of his buttocks once before leaving him.

"And I don't care what Shu says; I think he knows where it is." Tabool spoke the words as he steadied Nabuca's hips.

"Enough," Nabuca all-but pleaded. "No more for tonight. I mean it." So far, Tabool's words had been tame, but his old companion - his lover - was changing. He was frequently foul-tempered, snappish, aggressive... Nabuca shook his head. He didn't want to think about it right now. How many more nights like this would they get? How much longer would he be able to keep Tabool's sort of company? "Forget about Shu, Lala-Ru, Hellywood, and the pendant. For now, at least. Tomorrow is another day."

At first, given Tabool's attitude of late, Nabuca thought the blond would reprimand him for being too kind to the new recruit, or tease him about wishing to return back home. But Tabool only squeezed his hips.

"Say a prayer."

And then, the penetration; long, slow, and even. Tabool was inside him in one smooth thrust - the first of many.

Nabuca enjoyed anal penetration, but it was seldom enough to get him off. Now, since his erection had already been cared for with no second round in sight, it felt good but he didn't have a hard-on that had to be dealt with. This was for Tabool, primarily, since he *loved* dominating. So Nabuca kept one ear open to listen for the door, just in case. They had never been caught before, but one could never be too careful.

He wasn't sure how long Tabool lasted, but the final thrust made Nabuca feel possessed. Tabool's release spilled into him, and the blond remained inside him after the fact, rubbing his back muscles.

When Tabool pulled out, Nabuca had to catch himself before falling forward onto the cold, hard ground. His lover helped him up, and then both of them fixed their clothing so that they *didn't* look like they had come from a session of hurried fucking.

When Nabuca's hand curled on the handle of the door, Tabool's pressed flat against the metal, keeping the barrier closed. Nabuca looked over his shoulder at his companion.

"You'd best forget about going home. I mean it."

Nabuca closed his eyes briefly, and didn't bother to reply. "Let's go back. We still have to sleep, you know. We've had a long day. Tomorrow may be longer, still."

"There's something brewing," Tabool went on. "Something big is going to happen, I'm sure of it."

"Tabool--"

"And when it does, I'm going to be there. Because Hellywood is all we have left."

With that, Tabool moved his hand to rest it over Nabuca's. Together, they opened the door. But once inside, separately they walked. Tabool's pace quickened so he would reach the barracks before Nabuca. Whether that was to make it look like they hadn't been together, or just because Tabool didn't want to walk with him, he didn't know.

But Tabool did have a point. Something big *was* going to happen. It was only a matter of time. There were changes beginning to occur - and so far, not many of them seemed to be *good* changes.

Nabuca wondered if he would change more than he already had. He wondered how much more *Tabool* would change. He wondered how long it would be before he wouldn't be able to recognize Tabool at all.

And he wondered what the consequences of all these changes would be.

 

 

+end+

 

 


End file.
